wish fulfillment
Americannoun
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gratification of desires.
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Psychoanalysis. the drive to free oneself from tension caused by instinctual needs, as sex.
Etymology
Origin of wish fulfillment
First recorded in 1905–10
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
What would summer on the beach be without chocolate and marshmallows between graham crackers—or without angst and wish fulfillment between book covers?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
“And if you can’t have the wish fulfillment in movies, where are you going to get it?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2026
Phillips: I think it was just like a wish fulfillment of an 8-year-old.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 6, 2025
Seeing an evil man get exactly what he deserves may provide some fleeting wish fulfillment, but that inevitable scene where Iris takes back her power doesn’t make “Companion” an inherently feminist text.
From Salon ● Jan. 31, 2025
The dream carries the wish fulfillment to the uttermost limits.
From Hidden Symbolism of Alchemy and the Occult Arts by Smith Ely Jelliffe
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
